Total of 59 candidates declare for European Parliament elections

Nominations closed at noon on Monday for Ireland’s three European constituencies

Members of the European Parliament take part in a voting session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. File image: Reuters/Vincent Kessler

A total of 59 candidates have been declared for European Parliament elections across Ireland’s three constituencies.

As of close of nominations at noon on Monday, 19 candidates had been declared in Dublin, 17 in Midlands North West and 23 in Ireland South - a total of 59 candidates.

If the UK has not left the European Union by the time of the elections, with polling day in Ireland on May 24th, Dublin will have three seats, with four each in Ireland South and Midlands North west.

Ireland had been allocated two extra seats in the European Parliament because of Brexit, with one each going to Dublin and Ireland South, which would increase to four and five seaters respectively.

In the event of the UK not leaving the EU by the time of the elections, the fourth and fifth place finishers in Dublin and Ireland South will effectively be placed in reserve until Brexit happens and British MEPs leave the European Parliament.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government said: “If the UK have left by the start of the European Parliamentary term then all 13 [IRISH MEPS]take up their seats when Parliament meets for the first time.”

The first plenary session of the new European Parliament is on July 2nd.

If the UK had not left by that point, the spokesman said, and left instead at the end of October, for example, then thefourth place finisher in Dublin and the fifth place finisher in Ireland South would take up their seats at that point.

Confirmed candidates (outgoing MEPs are marked *):

Dublin (4 seats):

Barry Andrews (Fianna Fáil)

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Féin)*

Gillen Brien (Solidarity-People Before Profit)

Ciarán Cuffe (Green Party)

Clare Daly (Independents for Change)

Mark Durkan (Fine Gael)

Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

Gary Gannon (Social Democrats)

Ben Gilroy (Independent)

Rita Harrold (Solidarity-People Before Profit)

Alice Mary Higgins (Independent)

Hermann Kelly (Independent, but part of the Irexit movement which advocates Ireland leaving the EU)

- The constituency covers Dublin city and county. The outgoing MEPs in Dublin are Brian Hayes (Fine Gael, but retiring from politics), Ms Boylan and Nessa Childers (Independent, but also standing down).